Chapter three

Cassandra awoke around noon the next day with a pounding headache and a queasy stomach. Those vodka shots did the trick for a good night's sleep but did absolutely nothing for her mood today.

She slowly pulled herself out of bed and went straight for the shower hoping the hot water would have a therapeutic effect on her, both physically and mentally.

After her shower, she headed into the kitchen to get some coffee when she found Eloise's note.

"Hmm, wonder what this is all about?" she thought.

Cassandra dialed Eloise's number as she sipped the steaming cup of caffeinated heaven that would have her up and at 'em in no time!

"Cassie... how are you feeling today?" Eloise teased upon answering the phone.

"Still not great. What's with this note?" Cassandra's curiosity was peaked.

"Well, you remember the band Blue Moon that we loved when we were in high school?"

"Oh... yeah! How could I forget? Geeze, we must have listened to them every single day after school. What about them?"

"They are doing a short tour here in the States, and they will be in town at the Spectrum this Friday night... and... I scored some tickets for us!"

Silence on the other end of the phone.

"Cassie, are you still there?"

"Yep."

"Okay then, did you hear what I just said? We are going to see Blue Moon in person!"

"Ellie, I don't know. That's only three days from now, and I don't think I'm going to feel up to it. Seriously, right now isn't the best time."

"Come on, Cassandra! Don't you get it? This is your one and only chance to finally see sexy-ass Jason Cole live and in person!

"I'm telling you, he's even more gorgeous now than he was back in the day. Not to mention we need a night out... you need a night out!"

Cassandra paused for a moment and then finally let out a defeated sigh.

"Okay, fine. But you're driving because I'm definitely going to need to consume some alcoholic beverages before the concert."

Eloise giggled, "That's fine by me. You'll have a great time and forget all about your problems for the night. You'll see."

"We will see," Cassandra said, and then hung up the phone.

"Well, great... What the hell do I wear to a Blue Moon concert? I guess this is a good excuse for a little retail therapy!"

Cassandra finished her cup of coffee and got dressed. She quickly threw her long locks up in a messy bun, grabbed her purse and her keys, and headed out the door. She would skip going into the office today and work from home later in the afternoon.

(•)

Cassandra was a real estate agent, and because of this, she was able to set her schedule. She had been with Jefferson & Chesley Realtors for the past eight years and thoroughly enjoyed her job.

She was a people person and loved meeting new clients. The flexibility in her schedule was a bonus and sure was coming in handy today.

She hopped in her little silver convertible and put the top down. Feeling the warm, late spring sun, she drove away, in the direction of the local mall.

She hoped this little shopping trip would help take her mind off the disastrous events of the day before, at least for a little while.

As she pulled into the parking space just in front of the mall entrance, her phone began to ring in her purse. She grabbed it and saw the call was coming from Michael.

"Oh hell no!" she thought as she sent the call directly to voicemail.

A few minutes later, her phone chimed, indicating a new text message. She glanced at it as she walked swiftly toward the mall entrance. The sadness of the day was quickly turning into anger.

"Cassie, please talk to me. I'm so sorry about what happened yesterday. She means nothing to me. It's you that I love. Please, let's try and work this out."

"Wow, this guy has some big balls," Cassandra mumbled to herself after deleting his message and throwing her phone down into the bottom of her purse.

(•)

Cassandra spent the next hour and a half perusing the shops in the mall. Finally finding the perfect outfit to wear to a rock concert, Cassandra was starting to feel a tinge of excitement about her night out with Eloise.

She chose a black corset-like top with white, lacey trim that accented her ample cleavage. She paired it with a set of white shorts with black lace that tied up each side. They hung low on her curvy hips, and the outfit really showed off her perfect, petite figure.

Cassandra was a beautiful girl but was too humble to realize how others saw her and only noticed her flaws.

For instance, she had thick, naturally wavy hair that was to die for, but she considered it to be nothing short of a "frizzy mess". Eloise always told her that other girls pay hundreds of dollars at a salon to get what God gave her naturally.

Cassandra left the mall feeling like she had gotten at least one thing accomplished. She arrived at her car and plopped down onto the warm seat.

She pulled out her phone to check for any client calls or work emails before heading home. She noticed three more text messages had come in from Michael.

He just kept sending the same thing over and over; how sorry he was and that he needed to talk to her right away.

But Cassandra could care less about his messages, and deleted all of them before speeding out of the parking lot.

(•)

Arriving home a short time later, Cassandra found a dozen roses waiting on the porch. She rolled her eyes because she immediately knew who had sent them.

The card read: "Cassandra, you are my one true love. Forgive me. Johnathan"

"Ha! Fat chance!" she said aloud as she threw the card down and walked right past the extravagant display of colorful petals.

Cassandra would do something with those later but, for now, she needed to go inside and find a bite to eat. Her grumbling belly was reminding her that she had not eaten since breakfast the day before.

Other than the vodka from the night before and the coffee that she downed earlier in the morning, she hadn't had anything else.

Despite the angry rumbling coming from Cassandra's mid-section, she didn't have an appetite. She managed to choke down a piece of dry toast and a cup of noodle soup.

Her headache was starting to wear away from her hangover but, she was feeling a bit worn out. She went to the couch to lie down for a bit and maybe take a short nap before tackling her work emails.

Just as Cassandra was about to doze off, her phone started ringing. Startled, she awoke immediately and saw that it was Eloise calling.

"Hey, Ellie."

"Cassie! You'll never guess what I just got for us!" Eloise was nearly shouting through the other end of the phone.

"Not in the mood for guessing games, Ellie. What is it?"

"My friend that got me tickets for the Blue Moon's concert Friday just called me back and asked if I would be interested in attending the meet and greet before the show!"

Cassandra replied groggily, "Huh? What are we doing?"

"Cassie, we are going to get to meet the band! You get to meet Jason Cole! How awesome is that"?

"Oh, wow, Ellie... that's actually pretty cool. I'm looking forward it," Cassandra replied with forced enthusiasm.

She just didn't share the same excitement as her friend.

Cassandra used to have a big crush on the lead singer, and any other time she would be over the moon about meeting him; however, the sadness of the whole Johnathan betrayal had returned and was weighing her down emotionally.

"Okay, see you then, and please try to cheer up," Eloise said.

"Yeah, I'll try. Goodbye, Eloise," Cassandra said and then she hung up, deciding it was probably time to do some work.

If she could get through the next couple of days, Cassandra knew that once she went out with Eloise and started having some fun, she would feel a whole lot better.

Tbc